Srinagar, Mar 30: Even as J&K produces 5,000 IT professionals every year, the state does not have an IT policy, nor does it have the IT companies to employ young graduates, said Minister for Information Technology Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi.
 “Our IT graduates are forced to seek jobs outside the state. I will be presenting the first IT draft policy before the J&K cabinet shortly,” Ruhullah said.
 Ruhullah was speaking at Pune where he gave a thumbs up for the joint initiative between Pune-based IT skills training company, Global Talent Track (GTT), and the J&K government to improve employability skills of IT students in Kashmir, a statement here said.
 Ruhullah, according to the statement, met 30 computer science post-graduate girl students from the University of Kashmir who concluded their two-month GTT coordinated industry exposure-cum-training tour of Pune.
 GTT Pune is enhancing the job skills of 300 computer science students of the University of Kashmir since October 2010, through a special laboratory set up in Srinagar and in-house training in Pune.
 As many as 33 Kashmiri students (20 boys and 13 girls), who are part of the GTT-J&K government joint initiative, have been offered jobs by leading Pune-based IT companies.
 Ruhullah expressed confidence that Rs 2.7-crore pilot project was sure to succeed. He said, “I interacted with the Kashmiri girls this (Monday) morning and was very impressed by their confidence levels. Many of them are keen to come and work in Pune. The exposure to the Pune IT industry has made a big difference to their lives.”
 Ruhullah said the initiative would be extended to other universities in J&K: the Islamic University, the Jammu University and the Mata Vaishno Devi University.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 30 Mar 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 30 Mar 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 31 Mar 2011 00:00:00 IST